My basic question is how much of a boost could I reasonably expect from my work with the Peace Corps. Basically: What are my chances?Thanks

What he said. Everything else matters only insofar as it (1) proves you weren't a layabout and (2) might have given the skills necessary to draft a personal statement that won't offend anyone. Until you retake, enjoy LSN.

But of course those experiences mattered in their own right too. Only in the narrow world of TLS does the instrumental value of your activities take precedence over their intrinsic value.

Problem is: The peace corps is volunteer based. You get a boost for activities that are exclusive or competitive, that demonstrate a particular excellence in an academic, professional, organizational, or other relevant capacity as demonstrated by recognition of that excellence from an established body or reputable individual -- or an activity one pursued on his or her own, like founding a non-profit or nationwide student org. The people at the T14 level will boast these competitive positions and qualifications.

The peace corps is great service, and certainly a valuable experience, but as a stand-alone activity, since nearly anyone can choose to do it, it doesnt qualify to the above. Its like volunteering in your community unpaid (just on another level).

Now, can it be worked well into a PS/Résumé? Of course! I'd use it to that effect as one part of a larger compelling narrative in your application, but dont expect it to serve independently as a strong soft.

Bottom line, I would retake. With a 168+, you'll stand a very strong chance at lots of great schools -- a 164 may lock you out. Don't limit yourself with a sub-median score

I think the Peace Corps does help a fair bit. Only one data point, but I mentioned elsewhere I know a PCV whose GPA was not competitive for Harvard Law (although her LSAT score was) and she got accepted, so perhaps this is what helped out an otherwise marginal candidate.

jbagelboy wrote:The peace corps is great service, and certainly a valuable experience, but as a stand-alone activity, since nearly anyone can choose to do it, it doesnt qualify to the above. Its like volunteering in your community unpaid (just on another level).

Don't they reject like 2/3rds of their applicants? I think you might be confusing it with another program. Peace Corps isn't an unpaid volunteer program; you apply and interview and if you get selected, you get paid a stipend. It's not the most competitive program in the world but it's definitely not a, "sign up and ship out" sort of thing. Plus it qualifies you for a particular type of noncompetitive federal hiring later.

I feel like it might be time to resurrect slightly more concrete definitions of the terms "bump" and "boost."

You get a "bump" when you apply early, have pretty decent softs, military experience, great work experience, you're an HYP grad, etc. The "bump" does not mean you'll get in somewhere that you normally wouldn't have, it means that if 12 applicants on LSN with your numbers get admitted and 6 get waitlisted, you're a lot more likely to be in the admit pool than the waitlist/reject pool. It "puts you over the edge" so that you perform at a higher level than other people with your numbers. Who knows, maybe this translates into scholarship money sometimes.

You get a "boost" for being a URM, EDing to UVA, etc. This means that, by nature of your numbers alone, you would have likely not gotten into the target school. But by nature of the boost, you're now competitive at a school you would have otherwise been rejected at. For instance, a 171/3.1-3.3 has no chance at UVA, but by EDing, you get a boost that now makes you close to a lock.

Both of these elements are significantly depreciated in recent years due to the decline in applicants. A few years back, 172s with 3.85~s had, like, a 44% chance of getting into Harvard. Now, it's closer to 70-80%. Simply put, it's a lot more numbers oriented than it used to be -- and it always was pretty numbers oriented.

The Peace Corps is a good soft. It's not a truly elite soft (Rhodes/Marshall, renowned author, Ph.D. with influential publications, etc.), but it's also significantly better than an "average" soft. That said, it's still just a soft. You will probably overperform your numbers a bit, assuming that the rest of your application is well constructed, but the Peace Corps is not going to be the equivalent of even two additional points on the LSAT.